Southern Cornbread Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

2 cups cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 Tbsp sugar (optional)

1 1/4 cups buttermilk

1 egg (optional)

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 Tbsp bacon drippings

METHOD

1. Put the bacon fat in a 9 or 10-inch cast iron skillet and put the skillet into the oven. Then preheat the oven to 400° with the skillet inside. (If you don't have an iron skillet, you can use an uncovered Dutch oven or a metal cake pan.)

2. Whisk together all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, beat the egg and buttermilk until combined, then mix that into the bowl of dry ingredients. Stir in the melted butter.

3. When the oven is hot, take out the skillet (carefully, as the handle will be hot!). Add the cornbread batter and make sure it is evenly distributed in the skillet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges are beginning to brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.

4. Let the bread rest for 10-30 minutes in the skillet before cutting it into wedges and serving.

To avoid burning your hand because you've forgotten the pan is hot, I recommend placing a pot holder on the pan's handle while the cornbread is resting, or cooling the handle down a bit with an ice cube.